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The Seven Chakras • Meanings • Minerals • Chants & More

The word “Chakra” is derived from the Sanskrit word which means “Wheel”. When it is literally translated from Hindi, it means “Wheel of Spinning Energy”. If you will, please imagine a chakra as a vortex-like, center of energy. Within our bodies, you have seven of these major energy centers and many more minor ones. This post is about the major energy centers commonly referred to as the seven chakras.

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The Seven Chakras

Chakras are our Energy Centers

The seven chakras are the energy centers of our bodies. The study of the seven chakras is to bring greater awareness, balance, good-will, and overall contentment and happiness.

You may think of the seven chakras as invisible, rechargeable, energy points that need maintenance on a regular basis. To many in the Western world, this type of thinking is foreign and incomprehensible. However, over the past 50 years, there is a strong resurgence of curiosity and practice of Eastern cultures and philosophy.

Life Flows Smoothly with Balanced Chakras

Imagine the flow of energy from the 1st chakra (root chakra) to the 7th chakra (crown chakra). This is your whole being’s main source of energy and what keeps you balanced or unbalanced. When all your chakras are in a state of balance and harmony, the energy flows smoothly and life is good.

However, the chakras might get distorted with blockages caused by too much stress from mental, emotional or physical issues. When this happens you feel dis-ease with your surroundings, or you might feel just plain ill. This means that one or more of your chakras are out of balance. The good news is, there are effective ways to deal with unbalanced or over-stimulated chakras.

Below is a list of the seven chakras along with a brief explanation. Each item takes you to another post with more details about the chakra you select.

The Seven Chakras

Red brings strength wherever it’s found. This color is one of energy, action, confidence, and courage. Moreover, it’s is closely associated with our most natural physical and spontaneous need to endure and the will to survive. The Base Chakra is the densest of the seven chakras so it makes sense that red is also the densest of all chakra colors.Order: 1st Chakra
Color: Red
Sanskrit: Muladhara

The Sacral Chakra is also the Svadhisthana which is Sanskrit for “vital force” or “dwelling place of the self”. It is the center for all of our emotions. Therefore, it affects our ability to be in healthy relationships and it is the absolute hub of our creativity. It drives us to see beyond the ordinary and opens our minds to hold our dreams in reverence and to never give up.Order: 2nd Chakra
Color: Orange
Sanskrit: Swadhisthana

Yellow is also the color most closely associated with the Solar Plexus Chakra or Manipura. This is an energy center that provides momentum to realize your goals and ambitions in your lifetime. As a result, it affects your development of warrior energy and is the drive that helps you to stay the course to success.Order: 3rd Chakra
Color: Yellow
Sanskrit: Manipura

The Sanskrit name for the Heart Chakra is Anahata and it is represented by a lotus with 12 petals. The Heart Chakra is also the energy bridge connecting the lower chakras and the upper chakras. Our Heart Chakra is the fourth chakra is the center of our emotions and feelings so, therefore, is the energy center for happiness, love, sadness, and anger. This is where unconditional love exists within us and gives us the impetus to progress through our spiritual development.Order: 4th Chakra
Color: Green
Sanskrit: Anahata

The color blue is soothing and brings harmonic calmness into our lives. It is also the color of the 5th Chakra, also known at the Throat Chakra. It is said that your communication skills are improved when you meditate surrounded by blue items such as clothing or candles. In the aura, blue indicates serenity, contentment and spiritual development. So, look to the skies, the lakes, the seas of the earth for the lovely benefits that that the color of blue brings into our lives.Order: 5th Chakra
Color: Blue
Sanskrit: Vishuddha

Indigo is the color of the Third Eye Chakra. When you need to see beyond your immediate reality, indigo helps you reach deep meditation and increases your awareness. Indigo symbolic color of spirituality combines blue and violet to get its mysterious, deep hue. It represents the mind, thoughts, knowledge and intuition. Indigo and the third eye chakra allows you to recognize patterns so that you are aware of your own actions past and present. This knowledge naturally allows you to live in the present peacefully.Order: 6th Chakra
Color: Inidgo
Sanskrit: Ajna

The seventh chakra or the crown chakra has, for thousands of years, been depicted as white, gold, violet, and the purple symbolic color. If our crown chakra is blocked, we might experience depression, alienation, and inability to learn. It may cause the ego to run riot with strong urges to feel popular or an excessive need for sympathy. When we release blockage of our crown chakra, it aligns us with the oneness of the universe and gives us strength and confidence to move forward with our plans and dreams.Order: 7th Chakra
Color: Purple
Sanskrit: Sahasrara